COLLEGES

KU’s football success gives other teams hope

Tuesday’s lineup at Big 12 media days included Kansas and three teams the Jayhawks stunned in their houses last season. Only Texas A&M was missing from the group.

Colorado, Kansas State and Oklahoma State didn’t arrive in Kansas City to chat up Mark Mangino’s good fortune, and K-State was particularly uninterested in the topic.

“They had a good season,” Wildcats quarterback Josh Freeman said. “That’s it.”

But there’s another common thread here. The Buffaloes, Cats and Cowboys all hung out in the middle of the standings, around bowl-eligibility status — just as Kansas did two years ago.

We all know what happened to the Jayhawks from there. The convergence of a workable schedule, budding stars and astonishing chemistry (as defined by leading the Big 12 in turnover margin and fewest penalties) turned 2007 into a season when the basketball team had to win a national championship just to keep up.

One year, the Jayhawks are watching eight other conference teams head to the postseason. The next, Kansas rolls out a 12-1 record topped in Big 12 history only by the three teams that won national championships.

This from a program that has never played in bowl games in successive years, from a school that probably would have fired its coach had it not become bowl eligible last season.

The lesson here is if it can happen to the Jayhawks …

“I see it that way,” Oklahoma State safety Ricky Price said. “We played them two years ago and beat them there, and they beat us at our place last year and went on to have a great season. It can be done.”

To Cowboys coach Mike Gundy, it comes down to familiar factors like 85 scholarships and coaching longevity. And one more thing.

“The quarterback made all the difference,” Gundy said. “We couldn’t get him down.”

Todd Reesing passed for 318 yards on a huge night for the small quarterback. Reesing’s 5-foot-11 frame was a popular subject Tuesday, something about how there’s a place for undersized quarterbacks at the highest level of the college game.

Taking a chance on a player like Reesing is one area where Kansas distinguished itself. He’s from Austin but wasn’t a Texas recruit. The Jayhawks scooped him up, along with several others who weren’t considered major pro-spects out of high school, guys like Aqib Talib, Anthony Collins, Marcus Henry and Derek Fine. All were taken in April’s NFL draft.

“I’ve never been hung up on height, weight or 40 times,” Mangino said.

There’s more. Kansas invested heavily, breaking ground on its $31 million football complex and raising Mangino’s salary to $1.5 million before last season. He’s now up to $2.3 million.

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins went with the Asian plant comparison.

“You plant bamboo, and water it, and nothing seems to happen for a year, but three years later, it shoots up,” Hawkins said. “All of us are capable of that — up or down.”

The Jayhawks don’t see themselves reversing field, but it’s hard to see anything like 2007. No team will have lost as much quality as Kansas, starting with the four drafted players along with all-conference defensive tackle James McClinton and running back Brandon McAnderson.

Plus, the teams picked to finish 1-2-3 in the South replace those picked to finish 4-5-6 on the schedule. Throw in a September trip to South Florida, and this is no longer a schedule to be ridiculed.

Still, Kansas, which had farther to travel than just about everybody else, moved ahead of most for at least one season.

“When I came here, there were no expectations for Kansas football,” Mangino said. “Now, people see a program that can be competitive in the Big 12.”

And others can see themselves in the same way.

To reach Blair Kerkhoff, college sports reporter for The Star, call 816-234-4730 or send e-mail to bkerkhoff@kcstar.com